Insta-Update #2

Gill's Leaving Night / Commonwealth Games / Fancy Looking Cider
Barry M Sugar Apple / Barry M Mini-Haul / Barry M Waikiki
Eyeliner Art / Girls Night In / Meerkat Family

My pal Gill moved to London a few weeks ago for a new job, so we had a wee night out to celebrate - this involved cider in fancy glasses and dancing till 2am.

The Commonwealth Games came to Glasgow and they were amazing. Sadly I didn't actually go to any of the events, but I watched it unfold on TV and the buzz around the city was incredible. It made me really proud of where I come from. Not that I wasn't already!

I love Barry M - that is all. I did an updated Barry M collection video recently if that kind of thing interests you!

A bit of eyeliner art always soothes me, as bizarre as that sounds. I was recently thinking about what I'd do if someone told me I could only ever use two makeup products for the rest of my life (shock horror) and I really do think it would be concealer and liquid eyeliner. Everything else would have to go.

I had a lovely girls night in with three of my besties recently, where we ate too much food, laughed too much and watched Frozen. Pretty perfect, if you ask me.

We got a new member of our ever-expanding meerkat family - welcome to the gang Yakov :)

TGI Friday's Blogger Event / Strawberry Daiquiri / Party Party Photo App
Sanitise at the Edinburgh Fringe / RIP Robin Williams / Pizza Time
Hair Colour Booth app / Dissertation Organisation / Smokey Purple Eye Makeup

A few of us went along to a blogger event at TGI Friday's a couple of weeks ago and I enjoyed an amazing Strawberry Daiquiri the size of my head, and a cheeseburger (what a surprise).

I've become addicted to the Party Party Photo App lately - in particular, the little stop-motion videos you can make on there are brilliant, but the little collages are great too.

Iona, Lynne, Gillian, Laura and I went for dinner and then headed to see Sanitise at the Edinburgh Fringe last week. I would definitely recommend going to see it if you get a chance while it's still on!

The impact of Robin Williams's death on what seemed like everyone really blew me away. It's so sad, and I hope that his passing encourages more of an open conversation about depression. It just shows, you never know what struggles someone might be facing.

My friend Gemma (who has just started a new blog - check it out here!) and I went for dinner in Bunker recently and I had a pulled pork pizza with barbecue sauce. And yes, it was as good as it sounds!!

Another app I love to revisit from time to time is Hair Colour Booth - not only do I like to see what I'd look like with a variety of hair colours, I also decided to give blue eyes a go. It really doesn't look like me!

Just over a week until the dissertation goes in now - where on earth has the summer gone?!! I've moaned about this from time to time, but really I've loved it. I'm studying something that really, genuinely interests me and collecting and analysing my own data has made me feel like a proper researcher. What a big academic geek I am.

And finally, a selfie to show off some smokey purple eye makeup I was wearing last weekend. Not much more to say about that!

That's it for my little instagram update! Other than that, the past few weeks have involved celebrating Emma's 25th birthday, job hunting woes and binge watching Orphan Black. Hope you are all well!

Thanks for reading!

30 Day Snap #10

The 10th day of the 30 Day Snap was a nice, productive day, with horrendous weather once again! I went into uni to work on dissertation stuff, followed by an exciting meeting about a project that myself and three of my friends are working on. The meeting didn't last too long, so the boys headed home and Aimie and I popped into Strata in the city centre for a couple of cocktails and some nachos - the perfect way to end a successful day!

30 Day Snap #28

Very very quick post as I'm a day late - ahhhh, the first time that has happened all month! I suppose it's more important that I had a good night though! Last night I went out for drinks in Glasgow with my friends for my birthday :) I'm such a failure though - I planned to take lots and lots of photos and do you know how many I took? Zero. Absolutely none (this particular instagram of a cocktail is from a couple of months ago!!). Hope you all had a nice day too! :)

Girls Night In

Living in the UK, summer is often fleeting. We get an odd day of glorious sunshine here and there, and then it's gone - pretty depressing, huh? This phenomenon explains the slightly grainy effect of the following photos - lighting was not my friend yesterday, I can tell you!

One sure fire way I find of cheering myself up on a rainy summer evening, however, is having a girls night in! This can involve whatever you like, from a movie marathon in your pjs to getting all dressed up and enjoying some fancy cocktails! Last night, Emma and I decided to combine these two ideas and combat the unsummery weather (and my terrible cold!) by inventing a little cocktail of our own and enjoying one of our all time favourite things to watch... the BBC adaptation of Much Ado About Nothing (with Damian Lewis).

Our drink of choice was a snazzy orange and mango cocktail - the perfect summer drink! We mixed some Innocent Orange and Mango juice, with lemonade and a dash of Sourz 'Mango'*, and even if I do say so myself, the result was amazing!

As for snacks (because what sort of girls night in doesn't include snacks?!) we cracked out the old fondue set and melted some chocolate, but kept it healthy *sort of* with strawberries - fresh orange and mango juice and strawberries? We were racing through our five a day ;)

I really love fruity flavoured drinks in summer, so if you fancy trying out a new cocktail at some point I'd definitely recommend a combinaton like this! It makes you feel like you're on holiday - all we needed was a little cocktail umbrella to finish it off, but we hadn't planned quite that far ahead! The Sourz 'Mango'* is a pretty new flavour which gives a nice little kick to your fruit juice without being too overpowering - and I can be a bit fussy when it comes to the alcohol part of a cocktail! I'm also really loving the Innocent juice at the moment - the orange and mango one we used in this cocktail is delicious, but I also really like the Apple, Peach and Pear and the standard Apple Juice!

I love nights like this - talking nonsense, watching an old favourite film or tv series and enjoying a drink with a friend. Whatever time of year it is, make time for nights like this because I think we sometimes underestimate the importance of just hanging out with our friends and relaxing - stress about work, or finding a job, relationships (or finding a relationship!) and the usually ever present money worries can all take hold, so remember to take time out to have a silly night laughing and reminiscing - it'll do you the world of good :)

Thanks for reading! Let me know what your favourite cocktail/movie combination is!

*Disclaimer - I was lucky enough to be sent a sample of Sourz Mango to try out. I am not being paid for this review, all thoughts and opinions are my own.

30 Day Snap #23

Had a wee girls night in with the bestie tonight - cocktails, fondue chocolate and strawberries and lots of ridiculous chat, as always! You can't beat nights like that! This is actually a sneak preview from a post that will be going up tomorrow, so keep your eyes peeled :)

How was your 23rd June? Let me know what you got up to!!